No Mercy (2007)
No Mercy (2007) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place Sunday on October 7, 2007, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the 10th annual No Mercy event and involved wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands. Nine professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's supercard. In the main event matches, Randy Orton defeated WWE Champion Triple H in a Last Man Standing match, and World Heavyweight Champion Batista defeated challenger The Great Khali in a Punjabi Prison match. Also on the undercard, WWE Champion Triple H defeated Umaga to retain his title and Finlay and Rey Mysterio fought to a no contest. The 2007 No Mercy event had an approximate attendance of 12,500 and received approximately 271,000 pay-per-view buys. This event helped WWE obtain a pay-per-view revenue of $19.9 million. When the event was released on DVD, it reached a peak position of nineteenth on Billboard's DVD Sales Chart. Storylines The card consisted of eight matches which resulted from scripted storylines involving wrestlers from either Raw, SmackDown, or ECW— the three brand divisions to which WWE assigned its employees. The main rivalry leading into the event on the Raw brand was between John Cena and Randy Orton over the WWE Championship. At WWE's August pay-per-view event SummerSlam, Cena successfully defended the championship against Orton, and the following night on Raw, one of WWE's primary television programs, Orton interfered in Cena's match with King Booker and cost him the match, After the match ended, Orton attacked Cena's real-life father, in storyline, by kicking him in the head, As a result of Orton's actions, the two met in a championship match at WWE's September pay-per-view event Unforgiven, in which Cena was disqualified for ignoring the referee's commands; as per WWE rules, a title can only change hands via pinfall or submission, Orton was not awarded the title. Following their match, Cena's father gained revenge on Orton by kicking him in the head the same way Orton had done to him earlier, Later in the night after the event went off the air, authority figure Jonathan Coachman made a rematch between the two at No Mercy in a Last Man Standing match, which involves two competitors fighting until one can not stand up on his feet before the referee counts to ten. On the October 1 episode of Raw, Cena legitimately tore his right pectoral muscle during a match with Mr. Kennedy, though the injury was blamed on television on a post-match attack by Orton, Due to the severity of his injury, Cena was forced to vacate the title, Although Cena's match against Orton was canceled, World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman Vince McMahon stated that there would be "a new WWE Champion crowned at No Mercy". The main storyline on the SmackDown! brand was between Batista and The Great Khali over the World Heavyweight Championship. Their rivalry began in July when Khali issued a challenge to the SmackDown roster, which Batista answered. After Khali won the World Heavyweight Championship, a match between Batista and Kane to determine his challenger at The Great American Bash resulted in a no-contest due to Khali interfering. As a result, general manager Theodore Long scheduled Khali to defend the championship against both Batista and Kane in a Triple Threat match at The Great American Bash. Khali retained the championship. Batista defeated Khali by disqualification at SummerSlam but, as per WWE rules, Khali retained the title. The following month at Unforgiven, Khali faced off against Batista and Rey Mysterio in another Triple Threat match, in which Batista pinned Khali to win the championship. The same week on SmackDown!, Khali demanded that his rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Mercy would be a Punjabi Prison match. Another rivalry was on the ECW brand between CM Punk and Big Daddy V over the ECW Championship. This rivalry began when ECW authority figure Armando Estrada scheduled an "Elimination Chase to No Mercy", involving Elijah Burke, Tommy Dreamer, Kevin Thorn, and Stevie Richards. Over a three-week period, Richards, Thorn, and Burke were eliminated, with Dreamer winning the number one contendership. Estrada, however, revealed that Big Daddy V was also a contender, and he quickly defeated Dreamer to earn the chance to fight Punk for the title. The Women's rivalry on the Raw brand was between Candice Michelle and Beth Phoenix over the WWE Women's Championship. Shortly after returning to WWE as a villainess, Phoenix won a battle royal to become the #1 Contender for Candice's Women's Championship. Phoenix received her title opportunity at Unforgiven, but she was defeated by Candice. However, on the September 24 edition of Raw, Phoenix pinned Candice in a mixed tag team match, and as a result, she earned her another shot at the Women's Championship, which would take place at No Mercy. Aftermath The next night on Raw, during an appreciation ceremony held by Vince McMahon for Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels returned from a five-month hiatus and superkicked Orton in the face to end the show. At Cyber Sunday, Michaels challenged Orton for the WWE Championship, but due to a low blow by Orton, Michaels won the match via disqualification, but Orton retained the title. At Survivor Series in November, Orton defeated Michaels in a match to retain his WWE Championship. That same month, on the November 16 edition of SmackDown!, Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) and Matt Hardy lost the WWE Tag Team Championship in a match against John Morrison and The Miz. Umaga lost the WWE Intercontinental Championship to Jeff Hardy on the September 3 edition of Raw. Afterward, Umaga started a feud with Triple H, and they faced off in a Street Fight a month later at Cyber Sunday. At Cyber Sunday, CM Punk retained his title after defeating The Miz. The following month, at Survivor Series, Punk defeated Morrison and The Miz in a Triple Threat match to retain the ECW Championship. Batista resumed his feud with The Undertaker, which led to a match against Batista at Cyber Sunday, with Steve Austin winning a fan poll to become the special guest referee. Batista won the match and retained the title. After Cyber Sunday, The Undertaker challenged Batista to a Hell in a Cell match at Survivor Series. Batista won the match following interference from Edge. As a result, Edge then became part of the rivalry, and the three men faced each other in a match at Armageddon. Edge won the match, and the championship, to end the feud. Candice Michelle used her rematch clause for the Women's Championship on the October 22 edition of Raw in a two out of three falls match against Beth Phoenix. After Phoenix won the first pinfall, Candice failed to execute a move correctly from the top rope, causing her to fall on her neck, shoulder and face. As a result, Candice suffered a legitimate cracked clavicle, and Phoenix retained the title Results Other on-screen personnel See also * List of WWE pay-per-view events * No Mercy Category:No Mercy Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2007 Pay-Per-View Events